Richard looked over at the figure beside him and sighed. They had been driving for hours on end aimlessly, and it was becoming obvious that they both were physically drained from their earlier events. Garfield was slumped in the passenger seat, his head bobbing from side to side. Richard could tell he was trying his best to stay awake, but he was losing that battle. Richard was becoming quite tired himself. He could feel his vision blurring with each passing minute and it was becoming harder for him to stay steady on the road.

They were passing through a small town at the moment, and Richard could feel himself start to succumb to darkness. He glanced over at the green boy beside him, who had at some point shut his eyes. He then turned back to the road and spotted a motel in the distance. Once he reached it, he pulled over into the dirt road and stopped the car. Garfield woke up at the sudden movement and shot up in his chair, dazed and confused.

"Why did we stop?" He grumbled, scanning the dimly lit area.

"We're both exhausted. I thought we should rest." Richard reasoned, turning off the ignition. Garfield shook his head in disagreement.

"We need to keep driving. If you're tired, we can switch." He said, taking off his seatbelt. Richard stopped him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We're both in no condition to drive. It's almost three a.m." Richard stated sternly. Garfield stared at him incredulously until his shoulder slumped in defeat and he looked down.

"I can't go in there." He sighed. Richard let go of his shoulder and grinned, earning a confused expression from his partner.

"I have a plan."


Richard walked into the motel with slight difficulty. It wasn't easy considering he had extra weight on his shoulder. He trudged over to the front desk, where an elderly woman was sitting watching t.v. Once she made eye contact with Richard however, she turned down the volume and gave him a mildly confused look.

"Um...yes, how may I help you?" She asked slowly. Richard put on his best smile.

"Just one room, please." Richard responded kindly. The woman raised an eyebrow and peered over Richard's shoulder.

"Is he alright?" She questioned, pointing to the body slung over Richard's shoulder. Richard peered behind him, and saw that the body's face was fully covered by the hoodie from the trunk of his car.

"Yes!" He said quickly. He then leaned over the counter and smirked. "He had a little bit too much to drink." He whispered. As if to make a point, the body made a hiccup and gave a thumbs up from behind.

"Uh huh." The woman replied slowly, opening a drawer beside her without taking her eyes off the two. She then pulled out a key, holding it out for Richard to grab. "Room 324." She said cautiously.

"Thank you." Richard said, putting on a charming smile. He then tooked the key and quickly made his way to the nearest elevator. He could practically feel the woman's eyes following him as he fleaed.

Once they were safely in the enclosed elevator, Richard let the body down and slumped against the railing. Garfield brushed himself off but made sure the hoodie still covered his face in case there were cameras.

"I can't believe that worked." He breathed, looking at Richard who laughed.

"You know. You're a lot heavier than you look." Richard joked, to which Garfield rolled his eyes. The elevator stopped at the third floor,and the two stepped into the hallway. They found their way to room 324 and quickly unlocked it so that they could enter.

As soon as they entered the room, Garfield rushed to the bed and threw himself on top of it. He let out a content sigh of relief, burying his face in the pillows. Richard closed the door behind him, confusion written on his face.

"Dude, it's been so long since I slept in a bed." Garfield sighed, throwing off the hoodie. Richard frowned, slowly making his way to the edge of the bed. The room was small, with only a queen side bed, a bedside table, and a lamp to furnish the area.

Richard looked down at the figure below him, who looked to be already asleep. He found himself smiling to himself at how peaceful the boy looked; something that he had yet to see from the mutant.

He then took the pillow from the other side of the bed and went over to the closet and found a spare blanket. He then placed the pillow and blanket on the floor, lying on top of the fabrics. He rested his head on the pillow, trying his best to ignore the discomfort.

He sighed, closing his eyes and prepared to go to sleep, only to be awoken by shuffling on the bed. Garfield peaked his head over the bed, glaring at Richard on the floor.

"What do you think you're doing?" He growled. Richard cocked his head to the side, confused.

"Trying to sleep." Richard answered plainly.

"You're not sleeping on the floor." He snapped.

"Where am I supposed to sleep, then?" Richard asked. Garfield rolled his eyes as if it were obvious.

"On the bed with me." Garfield stated. RIchard sat up,shaking his head.

"I was trying to be nice." Richard snarled. "If it's your first time in awhile not sleeping on the bed then I want you to be comfortable."

"First of all," Garfield snarled. "The last thing I need is for you to throw me a pity party. Secondly, I need to make sure you don't try to sneak off while I'm asleep. So get on the bed, rich boy."

Richard could only stare with his mouth agape as he processed the words. He then shook his head, knowing that neither of them would get any sleep if he didn't comply.

"At least have a little faith in me." Richard mumbled. He then got up, grabbing his pillow and putting it back where he first found it.

Garfield moved back to the other side of the bed and watched as Richard made his way onto the bed with an uncomfortable expression on his face. Richard shifted under the covers, trying to make sure there was sufficient space between the two. Garfield rolled his eyes and turned onto his side, facing away from the teen beside him.

"Be ready tomorrow," Garfield whispered, closing his eyes. "We have a long day ahead of us."


Garfield rolled over in bed, letting out a hum of pleasure. His arms were spread out on either side, and he was indulging in the comfort the bed brought him. As he allowed his hands to graze over the the sheets, he realized that something was missing; or more like someone.

His eyes shot open as he sat up in bed, a wild expression on his face as he realized he was alone in the room. He jumped out of the bed, searching around the room for any sign of is so-called partner, yet, it was obvious he was not there.

"I can't believe him!" Garfield seethed, gripping his hair angrily. "That lying bastard. I'll kill him!" He screech as he kicked the walls multiple times in rage. He was fully prepared to run out of the room and search for him before realizing who he was and that he couldn't.

Garfield paced the room, trying to figure out what to do with this situation. He couldn't risk having Richard exposing where he was, but he couldn't risk exposing himself either. He was still wearing the hoodie he wore the night before and decided it was worth the risk, and threw the hoodie on top of his head. He then marched to the door and swung it open, only to be stopped by a smiling figure.

"Good morning!" Richard cheered. He then held up a bag and shook it. "I brought breakfast." Garfield watched in confusion as Richard walked past him and set the bag on the table. Garfield slowly closed the door, blinking hard.

"Where have you been?" Garfield hissed. Richard threw his head to the side.

"I just went out to get us something to eat. You must be starving." He said, taking the food out of the bag. "Also," He said, taking digging in his pockets and pulling out a pair of keys. "I sold the car!" He then tossed the keys to Garfield, who hardly had time to catch them. Seeing how Garfield still looked mildly angry, RIchard slowly let his happy demeanor drop.

"You don't think I tried to run away, do you?' Richard asked slowly.

"Of course I did!" Garfield shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "You left without telling me, what do you expect?"

"You just look so peaceful sleeping," Richard shrugged, looking like a puppy being disciplined. "I didn't want to wake you up."

Garfield sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking head. He then walked towards the teen, sitting on the bed.

"Just…" He said, finally letting his anger diminish. "Don't do that again. I was seriously planning on hunting you down." Richard's eyes widened before softening. He then let a chuckle, nodding.

"Noted." Richard laughed. He then pulled out a sandwich from the bag and handed it to the mutant, who looked at it skeptically. "It's ham and cheese." Richard stated. Garfield's face scrunched up in disgust as he opened the sandwich and saw the pink meat.

"I guess now would be a good time to tell you I'm a vegetarian." Garfield grumbled, picking up the meat as if it were contaminated and tossing it away.

"I'm so sorry-" Richard tried to apologize, only to be stopped when Garfield held up a hand towards him.

"It's fine. You didn't know." As if to prove a point, the green teen took a bite of the sandwich with only cheese. Richard watched for a few seconds as the mutant happily ate his meal and smiled to himself. He then took out his own sandwich and began to eat as well.

About ten silent minutes passed before they had both finished their breakfast. Garfield was the first to finish and stood up and stretched. Richard found himself almost mesmerized by how much his back arched and how flexible he appeared to be and blushed at the sight.

"We should probably get going if we're going to make it there in time." Garfield reported, letting his arms drop. Richard looked away, embarrassed that he could've been caught staring.

"Where are we going exactly?' Richard asked after clearing his throat.

"Wouldn't you like to know, pretty boy?" Garfield smirked, throwing him a wink. "Anyway, why don't you check us out and I find a backway to get to the parking lot?" He suggested.

"Are you sure? What if somebody sees you?"

"They won't." Garfield reassured confidently. Richard furrowed his brows, but nodded nonetheless.

"Alright," Richard finally replied. "Look for a light blue convertible." Garfield nodded and watched as Richard left the room. He found himself staring at the door of which Richard left, and although he would never admit it, he already missed his presence. He then turned towards the window, an idea striking in his head.


"I'm here to check out." Richard stated, shifting on his feet as his fingers tapped nervously on the counter. The receptions cocked her head to the side, sticking out her hand for the key.

"Leaving so soon?" She asked as Richard handed her the metal. She then clicked her tongue, throwing the key into a drawer. "Where's your friend?" She questioned.

"Oh um…" Richard laughed, running his fingers through his hair. "He left earlier. I'm surprised you didn't see him."

"I see everyone that walks in and out of this building." She sneered.

"Right." Richard grinned, nodding in agreement. He then straightened up, putting on his best smile. "So how much was the room, again?" Richard said, trying desperately to change the subject.

"Sixty." She stated. Richard nodded again, taking out his wallet from his back pocket. He pulled out the money, and prepared to give the woman the papers, when he noticed her staring intensely at the television. He curiously peered over the counter and was shocked by what he saw on the screen.

Though the image was blurry, the person showed was unmistakably Garfield's. It looked to be caught on a security camera on the whim, and the photo had been zoomed in precisely to capture his face. Glancing at the woman, he saw that she had a scowl on her face and he gulped.

"...The fugitive has yet to be identified, but he is armed and dangerous. He was last captured entering this vehicle-" The photo then jumped to Richard's old mustang, making his heart pump faster. "Which has lead us to believe he is holding that person hostage. If you have any clue who might own this vehicle please contact-" The screen suddenly went black, causing Richard to blink in shock.

"You'd think it be easy to capture some green guy." The woman scowled, shaking her head. She then looked Richard straight in the eyes, examining him. Richard could feel the sweat forming around his brows as he tried his best to keep his cool. After it felt like an eternity, she finally looked away and held out her hand. "You be careful out there." She finally said.

Richard quickly nodded and handed her the cash before turning and practically sprinting out of the building. He had parked on the far side of the motel, so he decided it best to run there to save time. As he rounded the corner, he could make out a figure covered in black leaning against the hood of the car. Richard picked up his pace and one he reached the figure he wrapped his hand around his forearm and yanked him.

"What gives, dude!" Garfield hissed. He grabbed onto his hoodie to make sure it didn't fall off his head as Richard pulled him.

"We have to go." Richard panted, trying to open the passenger door, but unable to because the door was locked. Garfield rolled his eyes and pulled out the keys, unlocking the door.

"Okay, but I'm driving." He said casually, walking around the hood to get to the driver's seat. Richard was already fastened in by the time Garfield entered through the other side. The mutant gave him an odd look but shrugged, putting the car in ignition and starting it. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, driving at a constant speed.

"Do you want to tell me why you're freaking out now?" Garfield asked.

"I think the media knows that I'm with you." Richard stated, to which Garfield raised an eyebrow. "They have your picture on the news plus a photo of you getting into my car." At the mention of this, the color from Garfield's face paled. "I think that woman at the front desk had her suspicions too. And once my father sees the news he'll know I'm missing and he'll come out looking for me." Richard said in a panic.

"Just calm down for a sec." Garfield grumbled, gripping the steering wheel. Truth be told, he was just as worried that they could be found. They had already left so many traces: staying at a motel and trading in the vehicle that would be getting searched for. "I knew bringing you with me would be a mistake."

"Either way, they caught you hopping into my car." Richard sneered. Garfield glared at him, but knew he couldn't argue that fact. He tapped the steering wheel, trying to think of the best way out of the situation.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" He finally said after minutes of silence. Richard blinked several times, confused by the seemingly random question.

"Um...a couple hours maybe. Why?" Richard asked.

"You should rest. It's going to be a few hours before we get to the location." Garfield stated, making a left.

"But I'm not tired." Richard argued.

"Sleep." Garfield said sternly, turning his head towards Richard with an expression that said it would be best not to argue. Richard huffed, but decided to do as told. He leaned against the seat and shut his eyes, and despite himself, he could feel himself start to fall asleep.


Richard was awoken by a sharp jab at his side. He shot up and examined his surroundings. It was pitch black outside and he there were no buildings in sight. He felt the car shut off beneath him and turned his head to the left to see a familiar figure putting the keys in his pocket.

"We're here." He stated. Richard sat up in his seat.

"Where is here exactly?" Ignoring the boy's question, Garfield through something on his lap.

"Put that on." He demanded. Richard looked down at his lap and picked up a white mask outlined in black. He cocked his head to the side but slipped the mask on regardlessly. "Don't take that off, no matter what. Now let's go." Garfield stated, opening the car door and stepping out. Richard followed quickly followed suite, and shut the door behind him.

"I don't understand," Richard stated, watching as Garfield walked towards him. "What are we doing?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Garfield said, reaching up and stroking Richards hair. Richard was too shocked by the notion to bring himself to move away, or even breathe, as Garfield raked his hair back. After a few more strokes he stopped and admired his work, tapping his chin.

"You're still missing something." He said, biting his lip. Richard was thankful that it was dark out, knowing that he was turning as red as a tomato from how close the were. After a few more seconds of staring he shrugged. "I guess we'll figure it out later."

"Wait," Richard said, noticing something. "Why aren't you covered up?" Richard asked, seeing how Garfield wasn't wearing a mask of a hoodie.

"I don't need to hide myself where we're going." He stated, grabbing Richard's hand. Richard looked between him and there interlocked hands; confusion and embarrassment evident in his expression. However, Garfield seemed unfazed by this and grinned, "You ready?" He asked.

Before Richard had the chance to answer, Garfield ran forward, dragging Richard behind him. Richard could only let out a yelp as he was forcefully pulled in another direction. Just before he was about to ask what he was doing, a black hole of energy appeared out of nowhere in front of them. Richard closed his eyes as he saw them reach it, and knew that Garfield had no intentions of turning away.

They came to a stop, and Richard slowly opened his eyes as he heard sounds and voices coming from every angle. Once he opened his eyes, he was baffled by what he saw.

They were in a large building, with monitors and other devices on the walls. Panels with various buttons and controls were beneath them. The ceiling was obviously multiple stories, and an open ceiling was casted above on the last story. But what amazed Richard the most were the many mutants in the room. Some flying around, others working on the panels, some chatting among others, and various others just leisurely walking around. Richard never thought this many mutants still existed up until now.

"Come on." A familiar voice said, snapping Richard out of his stupor. By the time Richard turned to locate the voice, he was already making his way down a flight of stairs. He quickly caught up to him, making sure to stay close behind him.

He didn't know whether or not to be scared or fascinated by the mutants that they walked passed. Some were huge while others were barely a foot tall. They're seemed to be a mutant in every shade of the rainbow, with their own uniqueness to them. Some seemed gently while others looked fierce and vicious.

As Richard was looking around, he had yet to see a massive figure in front of him, and walked right into it. Richard shook his head, taking a few steps back and looking up. Judging by hard the figure was, he had expected to had run into a wall, but was surprised to see it was a giant man with an obvious scowl on his face. He had fiery red hair, that looked more like a mane, and yellow and black jumpsuit on.

"What are you looking at, pipsqueak?" The man growled. Before Richard had the chance to answer he was being hoisted into the air by the collar of his short. Richard struggled to loosen his grip, but found that the man was much too strung. "I'm going to have fun pounding you into a-"

"Stand down, Mammoth." They both looked down to see Garfield standing below them with an obvious frown on his face.

"Why should I? The shrimp knocked into me?" Mammoth snarled.

"Stand down." Garfield repeated. "Or would you rather have me take you on myself?" Garfield challenged. Mammoth huffed and threw Richard aside, causing him to land roughly on his back.

Mammoth marched in front of Garfield, who had yet to move or take his eyes off of him. Mammoth snarled, leaning over to come face to face with Garfield.

"Next time I won't hold back." He stated before stomping away. Garfield watched for a few seconds before shaking his head. He walked toward Richard, who was still struggling to stand up. Garfield outstretched his hand towards him, to which he accepted gratefully.

"Are you alright?" Garfield asked. Richard nodded as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I see you're quick at making friends." He joked. Richard rolled his eyes.

"No offense, but why did he listen to you like that?"

"Let's just say there's a reason why I'm the most wanted mutant in the world." Garfield shrugged as he began walking away again. Richard made sure to keep close to him as they walked towards a group of mutants.

The first person who noticed them was a beautiful girl with orange skin. Though she looked fairly normal, there were some characteristics that characterized her as a mutant. Besides her orange skin, she had long fiery red hair, and bright green eyes. Her eyebrows were not full, and instead were short stubs.

Upon seeing them she floated into the air, and clasped her hands together excitedly. To Richard's surprise, she flew towards Garfield at lightning speed, wrapping her arms around him, and bringing him into a tight hug, twirling him into the air also.

"Friend Beastboy, you have returned safely, yes?" She asked, checking his face for any marks. Garfield chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, Star." Garfield said with a smile. Then two other people made their way to the duo. The first one was a large black man littered in metal. Most of his body was a light silver and blue metal but there were still traces of him being once human. A large smile was plastered on his face. Floating beside him was a girl with pale skin and purple hair. In the middle of her forehead was a red chakra. Though she wasn't smiling, it was easy to tell she was happy.

"Good to have you back, grass stain." The large metal man grinned, patting Garfield roughly on the back.

"You too tin man." Garfield laughed.

"You must tell us all about you adventure!" Starfire cheered.

"Are you going to introduce us to your friend?" A monotonous voice suddenly asked. Suddenly, all heads turned to Richard, who had been watching the greetings awkwardly. Garfield cleared his throat, as if just remembering he was there.

"Right." Garfield said, stepping into the middle. "Well, this is Starfire." He said, gesturing to the red head.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, friend." She said, waving. Richard gave her a half smile as Garfield moved on to the next person.

"This is my best buddy, Cyborg." Garfield introduced, to which Cyborg nodded proudly to.

"And last but not least, this is Rae-Rae." He said, pointing to the purple haired girl.

"Raven." She corrected with a scowl, to which Beast Boy laughed.

"Friend Beastboy did not say he was bringing a friend." Starfire said, walking up to Richard who tried his best not to back away.

"Uh…" He looked over to Garfield, who gave him a look that said to play along. "Me and... Beast Boy…. just happened to bump into each other." Richard stated, using the foreign name.

"And what's your name?" Cyborg asked. At this Garfield and Richard exchanged worried glances. Richard cleared his throat, playing with the hem of his pants nervously.

"Robin." He finally wheezed, that being the first name coming to mind.

"Nice to meet you then." Cyborg said with a smile. After that the intensity of the situation seemed to fade and Richard allowed himself to relax. Garfield clapped his hands together, gathering the attention of everyone around him.

"Alright team, have you got any new leads?" Garfield asked. Suddenly the group turned serious and hustled to the panels to an overhead monitor. Richard followed and watched as the screen suddenly turned into a blueprint of a building.

"I managed to bug some parts of the building. It's heavily guarded so you'll have to be extra careful." Cyborg stated, typing furiously on the keyboard.

"There some kind of mechanism that prevents mutants from getting anywhere close to it also." Raven stated. "Even if we figured out where the files are located, we wouldn't be able to break in."

"Unless," Starfire stated, opening a safe and holding out a glowing green box. "We can somehow get this into the main computer devices." Starfire said sadly, knowing that would be nearly impossible.

"What is it?" Garfield asked, taking the device into his own hands.

"When installed properly, it will take away the field for a short amount of time. Just enough time for someone to get the files and get out." Cyborg suddenly turned his head, smiling at Richard who was watching in confusion.

"That's where you'll come in." Garfield stated. Richard blinked, surprised.

"Me?" He asked.

"Robin here," Garfield said, pulling grabbing his wrist and pulling him beside him. "Has the ability to mask his powers when needed. He's basically a human when he does it." Garfield lied, to which the small group cheered.

Richard smiled, though on the inside he was mildly confused. He didn't understand why Garfield would lie about him being human, or why he pretended that he had powers. He had no idea what they were talking about, or why they needed to hijack a building. But he knew that no good would come if he asked questions so he just played along.

"That's a pretty sweet power you got there." Came a rough voice from behind. The group turned and Richard instantly paled at who was behind him. "Mind testing it out?"

"Mammoth, I thought I told you to stand down." Garfield sneered. Mammoth scoffed. Behind him was a pale girl with bright pink hair in pigtails, and a short bald kid with a jetpack on snickered behind him.

"You know the rules, Beast Boy." The kid laughed.

"All newbies must prove themselves to be a part of this team." The girl stated, flicking her wrist so that a pink bolt shot out.

"You're not going to go back on your own rules, are you?" Mammoth challenged. Beast Boy opened his mouth and then closed it, knowing he was right.

"Come on, man. You know we need him for the mission." Cyborg interjected, stepping into the conversation.

"I don't trust him." Mammoth said, pointing an angry finger at Richard. "He doesn't even smell like a mutant." He growled. Garfield was about to say something when Richard stepped in front of him and glared at the mammoth.

"It's fine, Beast Boy." Richard stated, snarling towards the big oaf. "I'll do it." At this Garfield pulled him back with anger written on his face.

"I thought you were crazy before but this is another level." Garfield whispered angrily into his ear. "You can't fight him!"

"I'll be fine." Richard said, pulling his arm out of his grip. Richard then turned back to mammoth, confident. "Lead the way." Richard stated. Mammoth snickered as he and his crew began walking towards the arena.

Garfield pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched the group walk away. Raven placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a cold stare.

"He doesn't have powers, does he?" She questioned. Garfield gave her a half grin that said it all. RIn one swift motion, the sorceress slapped the back of his head, earning a yelp from him. "Idiot."

"Bro, why would even bring him here?" Cyborg seethed.

"The kids persistant." Garfield shrugged.

"Whatever, let's just go make sure he doesn't get hurt." Cyborg said shaking his head. The group followed the others to the arena where a huge crowd had already started to form. Pushing through the crowd, the group made it to the front just as the fight was beginning.

Mammoth was pounding his fist together, getting in a low stance. Meanwhile, Richard stood stock still, his expression emotionless. The kid with the jetpack, which Garfield new as Gizmo pulled out a microphone with a wicked expression on his face.

"On the right, we have the newbie, Robin!" The crowd was mixed with applause, and boos, and laughter as Richard made did not make any motion upon being called. "And on the left we have the undefeated champ, Mammoth!" At this Mammoth pumped his fist in the air as the crowed hollard with whoops and cheers. "Don't expect this fight to take long." Gizmo mumbled as he floated higher up. "Fight!"

Garfield was at the edge of the arena, fully prepared to step in when things got sour. He could hear Starfire whimpered beside him with worry as Mammoth came charging full speed at the figure half of his height. Richard had yet to move as the large figure came barreling towards him, and Garfield had began to wonder if he had gotten cold feet. That is until at the very last second Richard sprang into the air, easily jumping over the brute, and landing a roundhouse kick on the back of his head.

The crowd collectively gasped as they watch Mammoth stumble forward, clutching the back of his head. Richard landed on his feet, but this time in a defensive stance. He had a slight bounce as he watched Mammoth slowly turn around.

"Dude," Garfield breathed in disbelief. He turned towards his friends, who looked just as shocked. Suddenly there was an almost animal like yell that brought back Garfield's attention to the fight. Mammoth looked almost crazy as he crouched down low. In a flash, he sprinted towards Richards direction.

Instead of standing still, this time Richard followed suite, and ran towards the beast. Garfield watched in anticipation as they neared. Just as it seemed like Mammoth would land a hit on Richard, Richard slid on his back and between his legs. Using the momentum, he was able to wrap his hands around the mammoth's ankles, causing him to fall down face first. The crowd cheered Richard on as Mammoth struggled to stand up. Richard, however, did not take his eyes off of the red head as he got onto his feet once again.

"You'll pay for that, you little rodent!" Mammoth roared as he began running after him once more. This time, Richard ran in the opposite direction.

"What is he doing?" Garfield whispered, moreso to himself. He watched intently as Mammoth began to catch up to his retreating figure, and Garfield realized he would have nowhere to go because he was running directly towards a wall. "Crap." Garfield began to jump over the railing, knowing that this wouldn't end well.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked.

"He's my responsibility. If something happens it's my fault." Garfield stated, turning his head around to meet her. Starfire gasped and pointed upwards. Garfield turned around just in time to see Richard run up the wall and back flip off of it, kicking Mammoth in the back of the head and forcing it to collide into the wall, leaving a sizeable dent.

The audience was silent as Mammoth swayed before collapsing on the ground, unconscious. Richard stood up from his crouching position and warily faced the stunned crowd. Richard rubbed the nape of his neck nervously, giving off a small, uneasy chuckle.

Slowly, claps could be heard, and the build up gradually became more intense as everyone started shouting his name. Richard smiled, clasping his hands together and bowing before exiting the arena to where he had spotted Garfield and the gang.

He hopped off the stage, a giant smile on his face. Starfire was the first to greet him, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a hug that could break bones.

"Friend Robin, that was truly amazing!" Starfire cheered, letting him go. Robin smiled, rubbing his now sore arms. He then felt a hard slap on his back, nearly toppling him over.

"Good job, man!" Cyborg cried. Raven stepped up beside him, giving him a side eye stare. Richard could feel himself growing uneasy; that is until she gave him a thumbs up.

"Impressive." She stated. Richard assumed that was a sincere compliment so he smiled as thanks. Finally, Garfield stepped up, with an obviously annoyed expression.

"Since when were you able to fight like that?" He sneered. Richard cocked his head to the side, not expecting that kind of question.

"Um…" Richard started, not really knowing how to answer. Garfield rolled his eyes, wrapping his hand around his arm. He then turned to his friends, who were all snickering.

"The mission will take place in 42 hours. We will discuss the details in the morning." Garfield stated. Not even waiting for his team's response, he began marching in the other direction. Richard waved goodbye to his newfound friends, who returned the gesture.

As they pushed through the crowd, he received claps on the back and congratulations from the mutants who had watched. Richard tried his best to think them as Garfield pulled him forward, but found that nearly impossible. Soon they were in a clearing, followed by many staircases.

"Mind telling me where we're going?" Richard questioned as he was practically dragged up the stairs.

"To my room." Garfield replied simply.

"You live here?" Richard asked in shock. Garfield gave him an annoyed expression before turning around again, moving faster.

"All mutants live here." Garfield stated as if it were obvious. Richard pressed his lips together, but decided not to press forward. Soon, they reached the end of the staircase, where a hallway with many doors were present. Garfield led them to the door on the outermost end.

Using his free hand, he pressed it against the scanner, which glowed green once it recognized it. The door slid open and Garfield marched inside, throwing Richard into the room also. He landed on a bed, and sat up quickly with confusion. Garfield closed and locked the door before turning around to meet Richard sharply.

He slowly made his way over to Richard, placing both hands on the bed on either side of him and leaned forward. Richard gulped as Garfield got dangerously close to his face. He could feel his warm breath tickle at his skin, and he had to withhold himself from blushing at the close proximity.

"Spill." Garfield demanded, slanting his eyes dangerously. Richard tried to look away, only to have Garfield wrap his hand around the collar of his shirt and bring their faces even closer. "Are you a spy?" He growled.

"What, of course not-" Richard cried incredulously.

"-Then why the hell were you able to fight like that. No human is able to fight like that unless they are specially trained." The mutant accused.

"I'm not a spy!" Richard yelled. Being bigger than the green boy, Richard was easily able to flip them around so that Garfield was pinned beneath him. Garfield looked up dangerously at him, breathing heavily. "If you would just listen to me, I'll explain." Richard growled. "We're supposed to be partners. You're supposed to trust me."

"It's a little too early for trust." Garfield sneered. "And I never said we were partners." Richard groaned, letting go of the boy. He got up, taking off the mask and tossing it at the confused mutant.

"I don't see why I should trust you either, I suppose." Richard sighed, running his fingers through his hair messily to destroy the once spiked backed look. "This obviously isn't going to work. I'm sorry I put you through so much trouble." He then turned towards Garfield, who had sat up and stared at him in confusion. "I'll just go now." Richard said solemnly, as he began walking towards the door with his head hung low.

"Wait." Garfield called, just as Richard had reached the door. Richard paused, but did not turn around. "This mission...it's important to me-to everyone." Garfield began softly. "I don't know how else we can do it without you. Please don't leave." Richard sighed and turned around, placing his hands on his hips.

"I don't want to work with you if we're not partners, and if that means we have to trust each other, then so be it." Richard said, walking over to a desk and pulling out a chair. He then looked over at Garfield expectantly. "I want to know everything about you, and in return I'll tell you everything about me. Deal?"


A bit of a long chapter. I think most of my chapters for this story will be pretty long, which means it might take awhile to update.. But I have big plans ahead so stay tuned!

Please review!